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“Yeah!” Dewey said, pumping his fist in the air as he rose from the ground. He flew over to Paige and landed on her shoulder. “Lead the way.”

“Lead the way? I was unconscious when they brought me down here. I have no idea where to go.”

“Up those stairs,” Dewey said as he gripped her shoulder, laying his front paw on her head for balance.

Paige rolled her eyes upward toward it with a sigh. “Okay. Hopefully, we won’t run into any werewolves.”

She crept to the stone stairwell across the room and peered up. At the foot, Dewey’s carrier lay in a heap. Paige snatched its crushed form and placed the strap on her shoulder.

“Coast’s clear. Go for it!” Dewey whispered, patting her on the head.

“Will you stop banging on my head?” she breathed as she pressed against the stone wall and crept up the steps one by one.

“Sorry. Hey, you still have the keys to the car, right?”

Paige stuck her hand into her hoodie’s kangaroo pocket and then withdrew it, dangling the keys in the air.

“Whew. I think we’re going to need that. I doubt you’ll outrun a werewolf, so the car’s the best option.”

“Let’s hope we can make it that far.”

They reached the top of the stairs, and Paige peeked out the open doorway. A long hall stretched beyond it. Moonlight shone in front of the window at the opposite end. Doors and other hallways lay at various places along the wide corridor.

“Run!” Dewey said.

“Run where?” Paige asked. “There are doors and hallways everywhere.”

“Uh,” Dewey murmured, “just go out, and we’ll look at each one as we pass.”

“No way. I’m not opening any doors unless I have to,” Paige said as she crept into the hallway.

The hardwood floor hidden beneath the thick patterned runner groaned under her weight. She winced as she trod upon another squeaky floorboard and tightened her grip on the metal rod she carried.

“Shhh,” Dewey said.

“Yes, I know. Do you think I’m trying to hit every noisy floorboard?”

“I don’t know, maybe. You’re hitting an awful lot of them.”

Paige huffed at him, pressing closer to the wall in an attempt to avoid the worn areas of the floor.

“Here comes a hall. Peek down and see if it leads to a way out.”

Paige nodded and inched closer to the corner. She craned her neck to peek around it. “Just more doors.”

“Do you think any of them go outside?”

“How should I know?” Paige hissed. “What do you want to do?”

Dewey flexed his paw on the top of her head. “Mmm, skip. Try the next one.”

“Okay.” Paige darted past the opening and pressed herself against the wall on the opposite side.

“Wait, uh, maybe…”

Paige froze as Dewey wavered in his decision.

“Nah, never mind. Keep going.”